Monday, September 26, 2016

DIY Mason Jar Odor Neutralisers and Air Fresheners

Whether you are doing a fall tidy-up and prepping the nest for chilly months ahead or working through a full spring cleaning, this is the time of year for a transitional refresh. Our partner blog at Dalmatian DIY will be sharing a special pet-friendly house and home mini-series all week, and we're collaborating with Green in Real Life to share our very easy DIY home deoderiser and natural air freshener mason jars.

You can use any container that allows air circulation for your DIY air fresheners. My own jars are small mason jars with daisy cut-out lids:
both cute and functional. The jars are completely washable/reusable, a great size for tucking
unobtrusively around the house and the lids allow for easy airflow.
Since between my clumsiness and our multiple pets there is always a
chance of spillage, I've lined my lids with scrap pieces of open-weave fabric for a little extra spill protection without stopping airflow. You can glue these in place, but to keep things flexible, I simply use sticky putty. What you put in the jars for deoderisor or scent is all a matter of personal taste. Create a signature scent, change with the seasons, or mix things up however you please. Here are a few ideas:

Remove unwanted odors with baking soda or charcoal /filter carbon. The later is my favourite. It is available in the aquarium section at pet stores, and so much more effective than basic baking soda.

Add natural scents with scrap cedar or cedar chips, evergreen sprigs, floral potpourri, dried herbs and/or spices, dried citrus. You can buy these or make your own fresh from the garden using your oven or a dehydrator. Bonus, the dehydration process will make your house smell great! It's a good way to get a little extra goodness out of your flower/herb garden or reduce waste. You can do lots of things with citrus peel, but if your peel isn't so pretty this is a great use-up option (like my own scrappy peels, pictured below).

Add or boost scents with fragrant essential oils. You can apply the scent to an absorbent carrier object in your jar (such as a wooden block or scrap of fabric) and reapply a boost whenever you wish.

Protect against moisture with simple chalk or desiccant packets saved from product packages. The great thing about chalk is that you can dry it out in the sunshine or a warm oven and use it indefinitely.

Protect against pests with naturally deterrent scents and/or oils, such as cedar, eucalyptus, clove, citronella, rosemary, mint, lavender and more. Find a scent combination that you enjoy and keep the bugs at bay.

What's in my own jars right now? My hands down favourite is simple scent-free charcoal / filter carbon.
I use this in the refrigerator (so much better than baking soda!) and
anywhere I want to keep fresh and odor free. Because it's unscented,
it's great for using near pet resting areas and litter boxes - cats
dislike many of the strong smells in chemical or natural air
fresheners. Scents vary. I like relaxing lavender for sleeping areas, but favor vanilla along with fruit or spice
smells for living spaces and like to mix things up up for the seasons.
I can't wait for summer and the return of coconut lime vanilla! :) What are your favourite home scents?

Thanks so much! I can't take credit for the charcoal/carbon - it was a tip from a chef many years ago. I made the switch and have never looked back, although baking soda is still very handy for odors elsewhere (like carpet) where messy charcoal isn't an option and other cleaning jobs.

Thanks ever so much for taking the time to leave us a comment - we read each and every one. We appreciate you taking the time to say hello and share your thoughts. We are all about sharing here at Creativity Unmasked so you are also welcome to give your own creative post/page a shout-out in your comment. :)

This blog is all about sharing. Want to help?You are welcome to share my links, link to my content, pin my posts, etc. I love it when you invite your friends and followers to read our blog! Thanks ever so much. Please don't copy our post content, direct or paraphrased. Click here to read more about our sharing guidelines and how to Link with Love.